Juxtapoz has teamed with New England Outerwear co-founder Greg Cordeiro for a series of insights and takes in the world of industrial design and fashion, highlighting the diverse creative energy of young and established designers that we have been featuring in the print edition of Juxtapoz each month. Today, Greg talks where to find, and who makes, the best t-shirts in the world.  


Graphic tee’s; Sometimes we hate them, sometimes we love them, but everybody’s got them. There is no denying that the graphic tee is a permanent fixture in any man, woman or child’s wardrobe. From making a fashion statement, to just a crappy body covering while working out, these babies get their fair share of wear and tear. Regardless of what you intend on doing with those simple shirts, here are a few great places to suit your Tee and graphic tee needs.
 
1) Top Quality. High end, high thread count, and high dollar, but if you’ve got the cake, these beauties are worth it. Some are made on vintage machines and others with rare cottons. Explore the finer side of a T, and if you prefer a plain T, most have that covered as well.

http://www.buzzricksons.com/
http://www.realmccoys.co.jp/
Velva Sheen (above, a Juxtapoz favorite)
http://www.merz-schwanen.com/en/ (below)
www.sunspel.com

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2) Vintage or Thrift. Some of the coolest damn T-shirts you will ever see are from before you were born. If you are okay with donning someone else’s old threads, you can’t beat the originality of a cool old graphic. The best finds tend to be old band or outdoor related tee’s.

3) The everyday shop. If you just want a tee shirt with a bitchin’ slogan or image that catches your eye, head to one of the majors, they will never let you down. Cool or not, they’ve got just about everything under the sun.

J.crew
Gap
Urban Outfitters
Karmaloop
Spencer gifts
designbyhumans.com

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4) Support your local We all have one of those cool shops in or near our town that carries some of the best product. Sometimes it’s nice to spend a couple extra bucks to support a small business. They tend to have some of the most unique, non-commercial shirts that money can buy. Local shops like

General Quarters (LA, and seen above)
Hickorees (NYC)
Bodega (Boston)
Saint Alfred (Chicago)
Off The Hook (Montreal)

5. Create your own. Go for it. The accessibility of screen-printing shops is way easier than you think and with websites like www.Threadless.com and www.customink.com you can get a T-shirt made with your homeboys face on it for just a few bucks.

 

—Greg Cordeiro is the founder of New England Outerwear, and a new contributor to Juxtapoz Magazine.